"But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.
And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.
But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life.
And because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it, that it may take root in you, behold, by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst."
Alma 32:38-42
Kind of a long one today, but of course totally worth a few extra moments of eye strain, because this is important stuff. Alma 32 isn't just about people trying the experiment of the word of God and joining the church, but it is also about continuing in the word of God and sticking with it as it pays off long term.
Nourishing the word goes well beyond believing or just seeing if the word is good/delicious -- whether it makes our lives better. It means continuing to feast on God's word, and learning more about it... studying and working to understand the parts that seem strange, and resolving the conflicts between our behavior and what God asks as we learn to walk more perfectly.
Today, let's take time to nourish the word. It is easy to stop and assume that our initial faith and belief will last and get us through, but there is a lot more there--starting on the path of the gospel is only opening the portal to a completely new world, being born again in God, and there is a lot of exploring and learning to be done. It is the work of more than one lifetime. Luckily, we have eternity, but let's do ourselves a favor and start now, when it will help us the most, and build that relationship and that reservoir of all that is good so that we can draw upon it in hard times. :)
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